Yoga For Life

Aidan is having trouble with his baseball swing. Max is addicted to his new video game. Madison’s ADHD symptoms are interfering with her friendships.

As parents, we naturally want to help our kids overcome whatever challenges they might face. The problem is that we don’t always know which tools are available to help us help them. One eons-old practice, yoga, is fast becoming an effective way to help kids cope with everyday situations. From the over-scheduled teen to the child with a medical condition, yoga for kids can help you nurture a physically active and more relaxed child.

Relaxation for Rugrats

Kickball in the field. An impromptu lemonade stand. It seems like the lazy days of childhood have been replaced by team sports, SAT courses, and resume-building volunteer activities.

Yoga’s emphasis on relaxation can help even the most stressed child or teen lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that increases blood pressure and heart rate. While yoga’s relaxation techniques offer important health benefits, they may also give your child an edge in our competitive world. He or she will be able to use what they’ve learned to relax before the next big test or college interview. The result? A more confident, more poised child who is ready to impress.

Conquer the Coach Potato

The lure of glowing screens seems to tether many kids to the couch. A fun yoga class can give even the most unrepentant coach potato a reason to get moving. It’s okay if he or she is reluctant at first. Ask them to stick with it for a period of time, perhaps a month. Soon you might find your little spud actually enjoys downward-facing dog or warrior pose.

Yoga as Cross-training

If your child is already active in a sport, such as football or gymnastics, yoga for kids can help improve his or her performance. While learning to stretch and chant “ohm” might not seem to lend itself to traditional sports, professional football, hockey, and soccer teams have started incorporating yoga into training sessions. Expert trainers say yoga improves concentration, body awareness, and balance, which are critical skills for most sports.

Yoga for Kids with ADHD or Autism

Any parent with a child challenged by a condition like ADHD or autism knows the value of an effective complementary treatment. Regular yoga classes can be an important tool for kids challenged by developmental or attention disorders. The relaxation techniques taught in yoga can help him or her relieve or lessen symptoms like fidgeting or over-stimulation.

Children with challenges may require individual attention in class, so be sure to discuss his or her needs with the instructor.

What to Look for in a Kids’ Yoga Class

Find a school, video, or tutorial designed for kids. A well-structured class will develop your little one’s physical abilities. For example, the rocking horse pose can improve flexibility while flamingo pose will help develop balance.

The program should feature breathing techniques that teach your child how to calm his or her mind. Your child might learn duck pose and rabbit pose, two common breathing and relaxation methods. When you sense he or she is going into meltdown mode at home, you’ll be able to remind your child to use these techniques to create calm.

The class should also allow kids to be, well, kids. That means the pint-sized yoginis should be able to let their natural energy loose—perhaps through roaring like a lion, meowing like a cat, or hissing like a cobra.

From mitigating meltdowns to feline-like flexibility, consider taking advantage of the kid-friendly—and parent-friendly—benefits yoga can offer you. 

Think anti-aging solutions only come from expensive lotions or painful medical procedures? Think again. Yoga, an ancient Indian practice, can be a powerful tool in your battle against Father Time.

Yoga blends physical postures with breathing and relaxation techniques. Here are a few ways practicing yoga for life can help you look and feel younger:

    Yoga practice helps build and maintain muscle mass, which naturally begins to decrease 1% to 2% each year beginning in our 30s. Loss of muscle means not only will you feel weak when you can’t twist open that jar of salsa, but your arms will look puny and flabby, too. By regularly practicing arm-toning poses, such downward-facing dog, you can develop sculpted arms that even Michelle Obama would be proud to sport. 

    Yoga helps build flexibility throughout your body. You’re not a gymnast, so why do you need to be flexible? Each and every day, you perform tasks that require you to stretch, from reaching behind the couch to grab your toddler to straining for the linens at the back of the closet shelf. Since age decreases our natural flexibility, yoga practice can help the body maintain the elasticity it needs to live life with fewer aches and strains—and who doesn’t want that?

    Nature isn’t the only thing taking its toll on your body—your circumstances or lifestyle can add years to your appearance. Whether you care for an ill family member or you’re bombarded with workplace layoff rumors, stress triggers rises in your blood pressure and heart rate. One study found that being in a constant state of stress can age cells by as many as 17 years!

By incorporating yoga for life, you get all the serious stress relief that keeps you from aging before your time. For example, many yoga programs teach pranayama, or breathing exercises. Studies have shown that deep yogic breathing lowers cortisol, the infamous stress hormone. When cortisol levels decrease, the body experiences a lower heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and more relaxed muscles. Because chronic stress has been associated with everything from coronary artery disease (CAD) to Type 2 diabetes, you’ll definitely want to keep your stress level in check.

What’s more is that once you learn pranayama you don’t need to wait until yoga class to benefit from its stress-relieving qualities. Dealing with a kitchen-full of know-it-all teens? Slip into your bedroom for a five-minute breathing break. Playing mediator between two sniping co-workers? Excuse yourself to the restroom or an empty office to use those cortisol-fighting breath exercises. You’ll feel better and prevent some of the chronic stress that ages your body.

Remember, too, that yoga is not just for the young, fit, and trendy set. Your practice can truly be yoga for life. Many poses can be adapted to accommodate illness or restricted movement. For instance, prenatal yoga programs frequently modify poses so they can be performed while the expecting mom is seated in a chair. Poses can also be adapted to suit practitioners living with conditions such as multiple sclerosis or chronic back pain.

Whether you’re an on-the-go mom or a senior living with a chronic condition, yoga can be a safe and effective way to wage the battle against aging without buying fancy lotions or enduring painful injections.